Although Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer are two of the best coaches in Ohio State history, they faced off in the 2006–07 National Championship before Tressel and Meyer were connected as Buckeye coaches. On Tuesday, an incredible anecdote from that game surfaced that had never been told before.
Zach Smith Sits Down With Eric Lichter, Who Coached Under Jim Tressel
On his Menace 2 Sports Podcast, former Ohio State wide receiver coach Zach Smtih—who taught under Urban Meyer at both Florida and Ohio State—had former Buckeye Director of Football Performance Eric Lichter, who was hired by Jim Tressel in 2006. Lichter presented a story that I’m sure many people have never heard before, in which Jim Tressel takes a serious jab at Meyer for something he neglected to do. It was amazing to listen to, and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Jim Tressel Takes A Shot At Urban Meyer For Not Introducing His Wife
Urban Meyer was the Florida Gators’ head coach prior to leading Ohio State to a 2014 National Championship. In the 2007 BCS National Championship Game, he ran against Jim Tressel and Ohio State, the team he would eventually work for.
Both head coaches gave a staff introduction at an event prior to the game. Meyer introduced his entire staff first, followed by Tressel’s introduction of his Ohio State coaches. However, he made it clear that Meyer made a mistake before he spoke a word about the coaches on his staff.
According to Lichter, Jim Tressel says to Meyer, “Urban, I’m going to pay it forward to you because a great mentor coach of mine taught me a lesson very early on in my life.” He advised that the first thing you should always do is introduce the most significant member of the program—your wife, who serves as its CEO.
Urban Meyer Gets Hit by Jim Tressel‼️‼️⁉️ tweet.com/3QVScsDHYX
— May 21, 2024, Menace 2 Sports (@Menace2Sports)
Jim Tressel was not pleased with Meyer’s apparent lack of introduction of his wife Shelley and desired to humiliate his rival coach.
This was not even a private chat that Jim Tressel had. In front of everyone in the banquet area, he embarrassed the head coach of Florida by doing it.
After the Gators defeated Ohio State in the championship game, Meyer was left with the last laugh. Years later, Jim Tressel was hired by the Gators after he resigned as head coach over a tattoo scandal involving several of his players.